The chief of transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has abruptly resigned, officials said Monday. Dr. Amadeo Marcos, who has headed the world-renowned transplant center since 2004, said late last night he is stepping down for personal reasons. Marcos, 46, said his departure is not related to the findings of an internal UPMC panel that over the last months has been looking into the success rate and complications of living-donor liver transplants, which are Marcos' specialty. "I have done this surgery more times than anyone else in the country," said Marcos, who also will leave his post as clinical director of the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute. "I intend to keep on doing them." The panel, headed by Dr. Timothy Billiar, chief of surgery at UPMC, is expected to publish its results in a peer-reviewed journal. It analyzed 123 recipients of living-donor liver transplants, Marcos said. UPMC officials would not respond to questions about the panel's findings. The panel included Dr. Richard Simmons, former chair of the department of surgery, and Dr. Bruno Gridelli, medical and scientific director of UPMC's International and Commercial Services Division. According to Marcos, the panel found that people who receive a new liver from a living donor have higher chances of complications when compared to people who receive a liver from a cadaveric donor. He said that is not unusual. "That's to be expected," Marcos said, noting that few people die as a result of those complications, which include infections and bleeding. The living-donor liver transplants have better overall results than transplants performed using dead donors, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS, the national organ clearinghouse. But the living donor results at UPMC were still lower than expected, with nearly 88 percent of patients alive after a year, compared to the expected rate of 91 percent, according to the latest UNOS report. In an e-mail, UPMC spokeswoman Maureen McGaffin said Marcos' departure is not related to his skills as a surgeon or to patient care issues. He will remain on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, where he is a professor, to finish some of his research projects until his contract expires June 30. The resignation came as a surprise. In an interview last month, Marcos told the Tribune-Review he had intentions of growing the transplant center and maintaining its fast-paced volume. "I want this to be the Mecca as it's always been, the ultimate place for anybody with liver disease to come," he said. Last night, Marcos said he is considering other options but did not say where. Dr. Cosme Manzarbeitia, regional councilor for UNOS, said he's surprised Marcos stepped down. He said was unaware of any UNOS review at UPMC, but said if there was an internal center-based review, it would be strictly confidential and he wouldn't know about it. "Amadeo is an excellent surgeon, who has always been very aggressive -- pro-donor and pro-recipient," Manzarbeitia said. "I never thought he had problems in Pittsburgh, so it's shocking to me." Manzarbeitia said Marcos is widely known for his work to expand the transplant field, especially in the area of living donors. Marcos came to Pittsburgh in 2002 and became chief in 2004 after the high-profile departure of Dr. John Fung. Marcos has been credited with jumpstarting UPMC's world-recognized liver transplant program by doing living-donor liver transplants. In 2006, UPMC surgeons performed 36 living-donor liver transplants, compared with four in 2002. "UPMC has gradually grown dependent on these transplants," Marcos said. "So, they wanted additional oversight on them." Marcos came to Pittsburgh after spending two years at Strong Memorial Hospital, which is part of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. He was Strong's director of solid organ transplantation. Marcos was part of the team that performed the first adult-to-adult living liver transplant in upstate New York. UPMC officials would not say who is replacing Marcos. Marcos said he is happy with his work at UPMC. "I have a lot of good memories of my time here," he said.

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